Jeff Cornwall on Why Plan

Jeff Cornwall of The Entrepreneurial Mind posted his reasons to plan a couple of days ago after listening to his MBA students present business plans. Here’s what he wrote:

Business planning helps finds the things we don’t know about the
details — attracting customers, staffing, managing inventory, and so
forth.

Business planning tests your desire, your passion and your resolve.

Business planning helps to determine if all potential partners
understand their roles, the time and financial commitment required, and
the risk. It allows us to discover important points of disagreement or
incompatibility before it is too late.

Business planning can show us the true potential of the business —
sometimes this is a pleasant surprise and sometimes it is a real
disappointment. If approached honestly and diligently, it is a true
process of discovery.

Business planning lays bare the holes in your business model, your team, available resources, and your implementation plans.